LAS CRUCES — Beer and wine could be flowing soon at Corbett Center. New Mexico State University last week applied for a governmental liquor license for its student union building. According to university officials, the special-use permit would be used only for special events, not to open a full-time pub.

The Associated Students of NMSU passed a resolution in October recommending the university pursue the license. NMSU regents have individually provided signed affidavits required for the application; those were submitted to the state with the application, university officials said.

“It’s my understanding that as long as the license is just operating as a special-use permit — at catered events, for instance — that wouldn’t need further approval by the Board of Regents,” said Justin Bannister, interim vice president of marketing and communications. “If, at some point, they want to put a bar or pub in, that would need to come before the regents for their approval.”

A student-led initiative

The idea is one that came from the students, according to ASNMSU President Matt Bose.

“The initial thought for the liquor license came during my transition period with former student body president Dustin Chavez,” Bose said. “The Graduate Student Council President voiced the concerns of the Graduate Council in hosting their Graduate Research Symposium. At the time, the council was forced to host this event in two separate venues; the symposium was held on the third floor of Corbett Center and the reception was at the Stan Fulton Center because of the lack of licensing for Corbett Center. This was not only costly for them, but it was also inefficient.”

Bose said that, while alcohol has been allowed in Corbett Center on occasion, “it comes with a hefty price so costly that student organizations and community members have avoided hosting events with alcohol at the student union.”

Bose hopes that a license would “drastically reduce” the cost for student organizations and make it easier to host community events at the student union building.

Far from the first

The university has had beer and wine licenses since 2000, when NMSU applied for and received a license for the golf course clubhouse, Bannister said. In 2004, it acquired another for the Stan Fulton Center at Aggie Memorial Stadium. The Pan American Center and Gerald Thomas Hall — which houses the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management — were next, which operate under licenses acquired in 2013.

According to Bannister, Chancellor Garrey Carruthers first asked the state to expand the license in use by the Fulton Center to cover the rest of the football stadium and the adjacent baseball and softball fields. The state Alcohol and Gaming Division advised that it would be better to apply for separate licenses for each location, which the university did. The football stadium received a license in 2015 and began serving beer and wine during the football season that year.

Since 2013, beer and wine have been available at volleyball and men's and women’s basketball games. At the Pan Am Center, one concession stand sells New Mexico wines.

A future Aggie Pub?

The student government continues to explore the possibility of putting a full-time pub in Corbett Center, Bose told the Sun-News this week.

“Currently, the regents have held off on considering the idea to create a pub within (Corbett Center,),” Bose said. “We are currently gauging student opinion for a pub in the building and hope to have this item voted on in one of the upcoming regent meetings.”

A survey is available at poll.nmsu.edu, where students can vote and offer their thoughts, Bose said.

Regent Kari Mitchell on Monday said she is not yet convinced a pub is a good idea and hopes that all stakeholders are allowed to offer their input before the matter is brought before the board of regents.

“When we feel that we have reached an adequate representation of the student body, we plan to approach the board of regents with our findings,” Bose said.

In a report prepared for ASNMSU, Darmata and WAVE program specialist Meg Long expressed a number of concerns about a pub on campus. Ultimately, the program said it would not support a full-time pub in the student union building, but would not oppose “having a liquor license at Corbett Center to be used for 20 and over special events.”

The group enumerated five “areas of potential concern” in its report, including:

The potential impact on students who are in recovery

The potential impact on students who don’t like to be around alcohol and/or grew up in alcoholic homes

The potential impact on students who are not in recovery but struggle with alcohol abuse

The potential impact on the larger campus environment

The potential impact on academic performance and retention

“Should the resolution pass in its present form, WAVE would like to continue to serve as a consultant, hoping to mitigate some of the potentially harmful effects,” the report stated.

Engaging upperclassmen, generating revenue

Bose said he hopes the beer and wine license will provide opportunities for student organizations to better reach students who are 21 and older.

“Currently, student organizations do a great job of engaging younger classes, but engagement with older classes has been lower,” Bose said. “While alcohol isn't necessary to engage the older classes, it is one way to make campus involvement more appealing for these students. I look forward to seeing whether or not this is the case, as time goes on.”

The license, if approved, would be operated by Sodexo, the food services vendor for NMSU, Bose said.

If the agreement is similar to those in place for the university’s athletics venues, Sodexo will likely lease the license from the university. Under existing agreements for athletics events, the university gets 40 percent of gross sales. A portion of that is earmarked to be split between the WAVE program and the university’s Employee Assistance Program. The remainder is split between the athletics and special events departments.

How the Corbett Center agreement would be structured remains unclear, and representatives from Sodexo did not return the Sun-News’ calls this week seeking clarification.

Bose said the student government hopes Corbett Center alcohol sales would generate some revenue for the university — but added that “it would not be a major source of income.” The primary intent is to bring community events to campus and to encourage greater student involvement, he said.

Any person having an objection may register a written complaint with the New Mexico Alcohol and Gaming Division, P.O. Box 25101, Santa Fe, NM, 87504. Complaints must be filed on or before midnight Feb. 6, according to signs posted at Corbett Center.